ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Otolaryngology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1623225
Delayed-Onset Hearing Loss in First-Grade Students Who Previously Passed the Newborn Hearing Screening
Provisionally accepted
REEM ELBELTAGY
Waad AlObayedShatha MashbriRobina AlrasheedRenad Albakiri
Munira Almulayfi
Rania Alkahtani*- Department of Health Communication Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Introduction Newborn hearing screening is essential for the early detection of hearing loss, enabling timely intervention that supports communication and academic success. However, some children may develop delayed-onset hearing loss, which can go undetected without ongoing monitoring. Even mild hearing loss can affect educational development, highlighting the importance of preschool hearing screening. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of delayed-onset hearing loss in first-grade students who had previously passed newborn hearing screening, emphasizing the need for early identification. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 130 first-grade students. The screening protocol included otoscopic examination, Pure Tone Audiometry (PTA), tympanometry, and Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAE). Passing criteria were defined as PTA thresholds ≤20 dBHL at 500–4000 Hz, Type A or Ad tympanogram, and a TEOAE signal-to-noise ratio ≥3 dB. Results Of the participants, 80 (61.5%) passed the hearing screening, while 50 (38.5%) failed. Among those who failed, 43 (86%) showed abnormal tympanometry results, indicating potential conductive hearing loss, whereas 7 (14%) failed both OAE and PTA despite having normal tympanometry and were confirmed to have sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The prevalence of delayed-onset SNHL was therefore 5.4%. Among the risk factors examined, consanguinity was significantly associated with the presence of hearing loss. Conclusion The observed 5.4% prevalence of delayed-onset sensorineural hearing loss among first-grade students underscores the importance of implementing preschool hearing screening to ensure early detection and timely intervention.
Keywords: Hearing, screening, School, Children, PTA, Tympanometry, OAE = otoacoustic emission
Received: 05 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 ELBELTAGY, AlObayed, Mashbri, Alrasheed, Albakiri, Almulayfi and Alkahtani. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rania Alkahtani, Department of Health Communication Sciences, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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